Per Clausewitz’s On War Essay Example for Free

Per Clausewitz’s On War Essay Per Clausewitz’s On War focal points on how victory can be achieved, reader see a keen interest in how to disarm the enemy using reciprocal and proportionate â€Å"efforts to his powers or resistance. † This implies that to win a war you might use all means, strength, and resources within your power to deliver the best strategy possible. Using â€Å"calculation of probabilities† victory can achieved by fully knowing what is at stake and how to attack at the right time. Being aware of the political agenda and reasoning behind a war allows for more awareness of political and military alliances in order to achieve victory in war. In addition, by understanding that there are tactics and strategy which must be used in war a victory can be acquired (website, Handel). To Clausewitz this means that â€Å"preparations for War† and the â€Å"War itself† must be seen as distinct entities. By preparing for the War you are acquiring all needed provisions and equipment, and comprehending the enemy and terrain in which the battles might be fought (Clausewitz Book 6). Sun too indicates that preparation for War is strongly required, and that without it practicality of strategy is lost. This would include any tactics to be used, calculations which can done, deriving rules or â€Å"even systems for the conduct of war†, and understanding that knowledge can be â€Å"converted into real power†. Clausewitz considers that â€Å"war is science when mere knowing; art, when doing. † This law of action must include strategy. This in turn â€Å"links together the series of acts which are to lead to the final decision† or finality of victory. Because these strategic elements are key to achieving victory, this author insists that the â€Å"use of engagements†¦. be classified into: moral, physical, mathematical, geographical, and statistical† aspects. This elements manifest within the process and act of War, and encompass the idea that strategic assembly of forces enables victory. Clausewitz indicates that the use of battle leads to the destruction of the enemy’s military, and that a great results is achieved by battle (KLINGER 79-89).

Analysis Of Ramayana And Odysseus

Analysis Of Ramayana And Odysseus Ramayana and Odysseus are epic literatures (poems) from India and Greece respectively. Odysseus mainly deals with the Greek hero Odysseus and explores his encounters as he returns home after the Trojan War, where he was assumed to have died. Due to his long absence, his wife back home was being persuaded by different suitors to marry them as her husband was believed dead. Regardless of his sons efforts to throw his mothers suitors away, he is unable because of his tender age and inexperience in war. Odysseus delay was caused by being held hostage at Calypsos Island, destruction of his ship, and the princess of this island who is in love with him (Homer 23). This story recounts his experiences at the Calypso Island, the trouble he undergoes when trying to return home, his welcome at home of the Phaeanicians where he revealed his identity after his sheep was destroyed and he was forced to swim to the shore. After telling of his story, he is helped to go back home; Ithaca disguised as a beggar where he finds he kills all his wifes suitors. The story ends after he has reunited with his family and settled which ends his long ordeal. Ramayana on the other hand is an Indian epic highly regarded for its spiritual depth, psychological insight, full of practical wisdom and just a wonderful tale. This epic is about the story of Rama, whose wife is snatched by a demon king (Narayan 5). This epic has much influence to the Indian culture, their life and extensively explores human experiences, existence and the perception of dharma. One of the most important topics it explores is the duty of relationship, for example the perfect wife, the perfect brother, king and the ideal servant. Divided into several books, this epic describes the life of Rama from childhood, his marriage to Sita, his coronation and the subsequent exile into the forests, the life he spend at those forests, how his wife was kidnapped by the king of Ravana, up to his final departure from the world. These books have a remarkable resemblance both in content and context. They also contrast sharply in some aspects. For example, both of these poems are epic. Based on famous and brave characters, these poems occur in different sections or books. Odysseus is written and translated from book 1 up to book twenty four. The same case applies to Ramayana which is written in different Kandas describing the life of Rama. These are named as Ayodhya Kanda, Bala Kanda, Aranya kanda, Sundara Kanda, Kishkinda Kanda, Uttara Kanda and Yuddha Kanda. Al these books describe different aspects of Ramas life which explain the bravery of Rama. Both books are also based on the lives of heroes. Odysseus was a hero in Greek history who fought the Trojan War and embarked on his journey after the fall of Troy. Ramayana is also based on the heroic life of Rama who escaped to the forests, survived there for extended period of time and fought the Ravana army which had some super natural powers. Both heroes are s eparated from their wives by inevitable circumstances like Odysseus who is separated his wife by war while Ramas wife is kidnapped (Narayan 10). At the end of both poems, they are re united to their spouses, and live happily after. Another similarity between these poems is the existence of supernatural powers. The Ramayana explains about Ravana, the demon king who kidnapped Ramas wife. In Odyssey, the witch goddess Circe also had some supernatural powers. She was able to turn Odysseus men into swine by feeding them on wine and cheese (Homer 34). Odysseus was only able to escape this wrath because of a type of medicine he had used called moly. It took this goddess to fall in love with Odysseus, to release his men, who remained in the island for over a year. Both heroes were also faced with difficulties and wars in their existence. Odysseus fought with the suitors who wanted to take his wife while Rama fought with kidnappers of his wife. It is also important to point out that both heroes believed in existence of spirits and constantly sought guidance from them. These two poems also depict women as ideal temptresses and wives. Regardless of goddess circe seduction, and turning men into pigs, we understand that, Odysseus wife Penelope remained obedient and royal to her husband. Odyssey tells us that, there were so many suitors who remained at her home trying to convince her to marry them, she remained optimistic of her husbands return which eventually happened. The same case is seen with Sita, Ramas wife who chooses to remain at her husbands side regardless of Soorpanaka, who was known for stealing other womens spouses and sleeping with them, constant tries. Soorpanaka had seen Rama on the course of her wonderings and had sworn to seduce him with all what she had (Narayan 7). These books show a few contrasts like the destiny of both heroes. Odysseus settles down with his wife while Rama departures this world.

Billy Budd :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   War shapes all moral trajectories in this story in many ways. War defines peace and tragedy due to the use and action of disagreement. In Billy Budd, (The movie), Billy ended up getting hung because he was accused of killing a member on the H.M.S. Indomitable. While these men were on the ship, they had certain rights that were stated under the Articles Of War. Each individual was punished under these statements.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ratcliff states, â€Å"Go find the captain and report to him the wind’s abeam. Respectfully suggest we ought to take in topsails.† (Coxe and Chapman page 46). This quote relates to the suffering that these sailors have to deal with while they are out to sea at war. They have to respect the captain’s orders at all times otherwise they will be punished. This kind of life that they are going through is kind of ridiculous because it’s so dull and boring. I would hate to be treated like that because it makes you fell miserable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  O’Daniel states, â€Å"Ah, I do love to see two Englishmen fighting each other. It’s fonder they are of killing themselves than fighting their proper foes. (Laughs hoarsely) (Coxe and Chapman page 13) The meaning of this quote has to do with the presence of a fight. The main object of war is â€Å"fighting†. If O’Daniel was a good man than he shouldn’t even bring up this statement because he is heating up conflict. I think that he has some inner problems because he tends to be a little stubborn with others.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I think that this quote that Billy states is rather fascinating because it has a lot of meaning to it. â€Å"I’d rather be buried at sea than on the beach, when I come to die. Will you stand by the plank, Tom, So I’ll shake a friendly hand before I sink? Oh! But it’s dead I’ll be then, come to think! (All Laugh) (Coxe and Chapman page 29) Billy is telling the reader’s in this quote that he really doesn’t care if he dies or not because he knows that he did the right thing. When he killed the man, he knew in his heart that he had to do what he had to do. He would rather be buried at sea than at the beach because at least he knows that he would be dead somewhere where he feels that he did the right thing in his power.

Harry Potter :: Free Essay Writer

Harry Potter ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’, written by J.K. Rowling, is an excellent example of a modern novel that uses medieval influences extensively. Many of the novel’s characters are based on medieval ideas and superstitions. The settings in the book resemble old medieval towns as well as castles. The book is also full of medieval imagery such as knights in armour, carriages etc. Whilst there is no time travel involved in the novel, the medieval period is used to such an effect that the reader is encouraged to ignore the fact that the book is set in the present. People in the medieval era were quite superstitious. They believed in fictional characters such as witches and wizards. ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ is a novel based on the existence of witches and wizards in secret communities. The medieval period is well known for the hierarchy of society. The society consisted of landlords and their servants. This medieval element was brought into the story in the form of house elves. House elves are little creatures that work for the wizarding communities that have no rights and are unable to use any magic: â€Å"The tiny creature looked up and parted its fingers, revealing enormous brown eyes and a nose the exact size and shape of a large tomato†¦it was†¦unmistakably a house-elf, as Harry’s friend Dobby had been. Harry had set Dobby free from his old owners, the Malfoy family.† (p88) The novel also incorporates fictional animals that medieval people believed to be real. These include creatures such as dragons, trolls and three-headed dogs: â€Å"Dragons. Four fully grown, enormous, vicious-looking dragons were rearing on their hind legs inside an enclosure fenced with thick planks of wood, roaring and snorting- torrents of fire were shooting into the dark sky from their open, fanged mouths, fifty feet above the ground on their outstretched necks.† (p286) People living in the medieval era created stories about creatures such as these and heroes that defeated them. In this way ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ uses medieval influences. The settings used in ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ are typical of those found in literature of the medieval period. The opening scene is set in a very typical present day suburban street. The following scene is set at the ‘Hogwarts Castle’. A castle is a very typical medieval image used in a lot of medieval literature.

The United States of Europe? :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nearly two and half centuries ago, the European colonists built their first nation on the North America continent, the United States of America. However, in these two hundred and fifty years, the relationship between Europe and the U.S. has always been fluctuating, and the attitude of their people towards each other has been changing all the time. So what are the reasons for this fluctuating relationship?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We all know that the people in Europe and those in the U.S. come from the same race, same origin, and they may all have the same kind of nationalism. Because of this, whenever any side of Atlantic Ocean has any problems or difficulties, the other side will eventually give its support and solutions. This can be illustrated by the time after World War II. In that period, the U.S. government has support its fellow brothers on the Europe by means of capital and technology in order to rebuild the cities and also to resist the expansion of communism. Even in recent years after the Cold War, NATO has accepted the application of some former eastern European communist countries. Frequent financial aids have been sent to those countries for the rapid change and development of their governments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the other hand, the European people gave their sympathy and compassion to the U.S. on the September 11 Incident. Most of the European countries give their support to the U.S. on the issue of terrorism. Moreover, some of them even gave their military support for the war to the terrorists. All these can strengthen the relationship between Europe and the U.S..   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  However, can these events be the real reflections of the relationship between them?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The answer is no. Many years after World War II, the younger generations have no idea of what the U.S. has done for their countries. Instead of thanking the U.S., they become more criticizing the growing influence of the U.S. on their cultures and governments. Just like the protests of the American people before the set up of the U.S., many European people are now remonstrating that their governments would become the puppets of the U.S.. Besides, they also protest against the U.S. government ¡Ã‚ ¦s withdrawal and rejections of some international agreements and treaties, such as the Kyoto agreement and the Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty. They think that these decisions are only good for the U.S., without any consideration of the Europe.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the other side of the ocean, the U.

Stereotypes: Race and People

Can everything said these days be believed? Today’s social media is highly affected by both language and how a message is sent whilst using the language. There are a handful of different aspects that affect social media as a whole; popular culture, stereotypes, textual bias and language presented in speeches and campaigns. Language can be used to explain a message but how the language is used in a context can define whether or not the message is portrayed clearly or if it is portrayed poorly. What you are about to hear may affect how you interpret language used by today’s media as well as today’s society.If you don’t know what it is let me explain for a bit: Stereotyping is the act of presenting a person or group in a certain way, through simplified and biased media, for example all asians like rice. This phrase states that the whole asian population, wherever in the world they may be, like rice. For an asian like myself I would think: â€Å" oh that isnà ¢â‚¬â„¢t exactly true since asian are also people who have different like and dislikes†. Now this is where stereotyping causes harm between different ethnic groups, for example the the phrase; â€Å"all black people steal things†.This phrase clearly states that all African and African American people like to steal things and this phrase was made up because of the fact that maybe once or twice in history a man dressed in black or an African American or African man was accused of stealing something therefore this stereotype is supposedly applicable towards the whole black population around the world. As one might see stereotyping can cause great disputes between different ethnicities as well as break ties between specific ones. Stereotyping is very popular social media ( tv shows, news, internet, etc. ).How the news dictates a certain story about an ethnic can in turn either make create trust between people or start wars between them. For example, not everyone who is Musl im wants to bomb gigantic pieces of architecture but due to certain events, such as the bombing of the twin towers of the world trade center on September 11, 2011, people have come to believe that all Muslims have bad intentions. How we interpret the news may affect social relations between the people we know. What have I learned from the constant language change and all these messages from different cultures, world leaders, and speeches?Well one thing is that: * What we say always has a hidden meaning. There is never a message without a hidden meaning to itself. * Secondly, people will never forget what you will say, meaning you must be very careful with the words you use and in what manner you say your message because it can be misunderstood. * Finally, always remember that the freedom of speech does not mean that one is free to say whatever they please but to convey their opinions by talking to one another. * Kiko Garcia Comments: XXkikomysterXX says:I totally I agree with what y ou’re saying, I mean people shouldn’t be judge from what has been stereotyped against them. I mean I’m asian, but I don’t like rice that much. I have had a stranger come up to me one time and asked me if I knew kung-fu or any kind of martial art, I told him that I didn’t and he just simply said: â€Å"well I thought all Asians were good at some kind of martial art†. This insulted me a bit in the sense that some stereotypes make other people believe that Asians are being expected of something great. Kikoman345 says:Tss you guys are a bunch of little girls! Why would you take something like â€Å"oh you should be good at maths† so seriously, I mean I’m asian I’m not good at math but I don’t complain about what other people think about me. I only think about myself and what would benefit me. Kikodaman says: Kikoman345, I kinda I agree with you in the sense of self importance but at the same time it’s also quit e good to understand why stereotyping starts in the first place, it’s because of other people from another ethnicities don’t know the culture other than their own.I see the importance in this and I believe that if people from other ethnicities would be more open to other cultures they would come to understand the values and morals of that certain ethnic group. Kiko Garcia: Thank you guys for sharing your thoughts, a bit odd how we all have almost the same name though, but anyway I agree with you all. I understand that everyone is a different person but some people can’t be forced into understanding another culture just because of one certain stereotype but for other people they don’t really mind finding out about a new culture to them, which I find very good.Yet, as kikodaman said it is also important that the individual that are being stereotype only think about the good stereotypes that they hear, but at the same time being an open person would never hu rt anyone at all. Rationale: I wanted to show my knowledge in stereotyping but be able to explain it in a more popular way for today’s culture, therefore I thought about writing a blog entry. In this entry I explain what stereotyping is and how it affects people, as seen in the â€Å"comments†. I thought about how news gets spread around us quite fast and then I thought why, the answer was the internet.The internet is used very frequently for communication, work, games, etc. but most importantly to spread news. My aim for this blog entry was to enlighten those who stereotype other people for their skin color, accent or even their ethnicity, and those who are less informed today are the young teenagers. These teenagers spend a handful of time on social media sites such as facebook, twitter, etc. so I thought writing a blog entry would make them understand more about stereotyping and its consequences.

Practical and Emotional Intelligence

Practical and Emotional Intelligence Tabitha Driskell PSY/201 March 24, 2013 Taryn Fetscher Practical and Emotional Intelligence Practical intelligence is the intelligence related to overall success in living. Emotional intelligence is the set of skills that underlie the accurate assessment, evaluation, expression, and regulation of emotions (Feldman, 2013, p. 385). The difference between the two is that practical intelligence is learned by observing people’s behaviors while emotional intelligence has to do with understanding other’s emotions.Emotional intelligence is the basis of empathy for self-awareness and social skills (Feldman, 2013, p. 385). These both can help you accomplish many things, especially if you are good with both. These both can help you really well when working. Just imagine you are a cashier register and a customer complains about a toothbrush by yelling and calling you bad names. If you are really good at both intelligences then you can deal with this in a calm and mature way. Ask the customer what is wrong with the toothbrush, if the customer keeps shouting at you then you know that you need to get the manager.If you have a low intelligence for both emotional and practical intelligence then you can get fired because you will start acting like the customer. Emotional intelligence can help in this situation by helping you understand what the person is really feeling by their body language, words and facial expressions. It can also help you by knowing how to calm down the customer enough so nothing bad happens by listening to what the customer says and talking in a calm and mature way. Practical intelligence can help because you will be good at observing the person’s behavior.If you are good at only one of these it may help but not as good as both would. You may get too compassionate if you are only emotionally intelligent because you will really feel sad because of what the customer is going through. If you are both th ough, then you can think about it more critically using practical intelligence. One television character that I can think of that uses both intelligences is Bugs Bunny. He is always studying people’s behaviors to see how he can get out of trouble. He also knows how to get to your heart to get out of trouble. Such as with his foe Elmer Fudd who tries to cook him in a lot of episodes.He is able to make him cry by telling him stories that he knows will make him sad. He also dresses up as other people so that he can get out of trouble. With his wit I believe he can get out of any situation. His practical intelligence and emotional intelligence is easy to see through every episode. Another character is Dr. House who plays in the show House. He is able to tell if someone is lying to him by looking at their body language and behavior. He is also very smart and is actually able to diagnose a room full of patients in a minute while walking out of the clinic.He only did this to show pe ople that he can do it. Although he is good at practical and emotional intelligence, he can be mean. He usually acts like he does not care about his patients, but he just does that because he does not like to show his emotions. Critics have called his character sociopathic because of this. Other than his flaws he is really smart and intelligent. The only problem he needs to work on is his social skills. Resource Feldman, R. S. (2013) Psychology and your life (2nd ed. ). New York, NY: McGraw Hill. My memory of characters